April 22nd is Earth Day!
After the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin appealed to the
student anti-war movement and worked with them to bring the ideas of air and water pollution to the
public consciousness. In 1970, Senator Nelson was inspired to create Earth Day as he was worried
about the rate of the industrialization and the carelessness our society had towards the environment.
Joining in the effort to create Earth Day, Congressman Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded
Republican, was the co-chair and Denis Hayes from Harvard was the national coordinator. Hayes
was able to build a national staff of 85 to promote events across the country, choosing April 22nd,
1970 as the date as it fell between Spring Break and Final Exams.
Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and
Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. Earth Day is
celebrated internationally on April 22nd every year. A common practice is to plant trees as they help
the environment, producing oxygen and removing carbon dioxide and other contaminants from the
air. Trees also help clean our water by reducing stormwater runoff. It is created when rain falls on
the roads, driveways, parking lots, rooftops and other paved surfaced that do not allow water to soak
into the ground. These large volumes of water are swiftly carried to our local streams, lakes,
wetlands and rivers, and can cause flooding and erosion, impacting the habitat of critters that live
near and in these areas.
Trees and forests improve stream quality and watershed health primarily by decreasing the amount
of stormwater runoff and pollutants that reaches our local waters. Trees and forests reduce
stormwater runoff by capturing and storing rainfall in the canopy and releasing water into the
atmosphere through evapotranspiration (the process by which water is transferred from the land to
the atmosphere by evaporation from the soil and other surfaces and by transpiration from plants). In
addition, tree roots and leaf debris create soil conditions that promote the infiltration of rainwater
into the soil. This helps to replenish our groundwater supply and maintain streamflow during dry
periods.
So help our water and celebrate Earth Day by planting a tree!
President Trump Directs Executive Departments
and Agencies to Review WOTUS with an Eye to
Rescind or Revise it
Co-Authored By: Attorney Therese Ure & Lisa Mae Gage
In August 2015 the United State Environmental
Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers (“Corps”) put their stamp of approval on
the Waters of the United States (“WOTUS”) final rule.
The WOTUS rule significantly expanded the definition
of “waters of the United States” under the Clean
Water Act, granting federal regulatory control over
virtually all waters in the United States. Many groups
opposed this rule, arguing that it expands federal jurisdiction, resulting in the imposition of
burdensome requirements on agricultural producers.
On February 28, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the
Administrator of the EPA and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works to review the
WOTUS rule to ensure the nation’s navigable waters are protected, as well as to promote economic
growth and show due regard for the roles of Congress and the States. See
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/28/presidential-executive-order-restoring-rule-l
aw-federalism-and-economic.
President Trump also directed the administrators, along with the heads of all executive departments
and agencies, to consider interpreting the term “navigable waters” as it is defined in 33 U.S.C.
1362(7), and consistent with the opinion of late Justice Antonin Scalia in Rapanos v. United States,
547 U.S. 715 (2006). Considering these interpretations, one might construe “navigable waters” as
waters in the United States, including the territorial seas, that are “navigable in fact” or readily able
of being so.
This executive order was preceded by a House Resolution . See
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-resolution/152/text. The Resolution states
WOTUS should be withdrawn or vacated as the EPA and Corps did not follow proper procedural
steps and claimed expansive jurisdiction that infringes upon State authority.
Several agricultural groups are strongly supporting the House Resolution and the Executive Order.
As water is a valuable resource to all, regulation upon it must be closely scrutinized and controlled.
According to the agricultural community, President Trump’s executive order and the House
Resolution regarding WOTUS is a welcomed relief.
Senate Committee Proposes Budget Cuts to EPA
and USFWS
In the wake of ongoing controversy over the reach of
U.S. Agency jurisdiction, a Senate Appropriations
Committee is taking steps to decrease funds available
for many Agencies for the upcoming year, in an
attempt to limit any overreach. On June 16, 2016 the
Senate Committee approved budget cuts to the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”)
and Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”).
Sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska,
the bill covers funding of many agencies and topics,
with specific statements relating to public land agencies and funding.
Most notably, the bill proposes to cut the USFWS’s budget by $11.9 million as compared to the 2016
budget. Proposed cuts equally would affect the EPA’s budget to the tune of $31.2 million.
Interestingly, and related to the funds allocated to the EPA, the bill states that, “None of the funds
made available in this Act or any other Act, may be used to develop, adopt, implement, administer,
or enforce any change to the regulations and guidance in effect on October 1, 2012, pertaining to
the definition of waters under the jurisdiction of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act…”
While the measure is likely to be altered as it goes before the Senate, it marks a movement by many
to limit funding to U.S. Agencies in charge of public lands, and seeks to limit the jurisdictional
overreach the Agencies often assert. Those behind such measures believe that if the Agencies lack
the funds to assert their jurisdiction, their resources will be dedicated in furtherance of the
respective Agencies’ core goals, rather than working to increase their jurisdictional effect and
power.
For the full text of the proposed bill, please visit
https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s3068/BILLS-114s3068pcs.pdf.
Nevada Wastewater Funding Approved by EPA
On December 22, 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced
funding of more than $19 Million for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects in
Nevada. The program funds fall under Nevada’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund, and provides
money for state projects that promote clean water through wastewater treatment projects and
improvements to drinking water infrastructure in the State. The EPA’s Regional Administrator stated
that “This substantial investment at the federal level helps communities develop the infrastructure
needed for clean, safe drinking water and proper wastewater treatment. EPA is committed to
protecting the water resources so important public health and Nevada’s economy.”
Funds supplied under the EPA program will go to provide financing for state projects such as
upgrading septic systems to sewer, and renovations to wastewater treatment facilities to increase
efficiency, as well as support projects for better and more efficient access to clean drinking water,
such as water storage and water system upgrades. The funds this year will combine with over $200
Million in federal funding previously provided to Nevada’s Clean Water and Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund since the project began. While the EPA’s influence can at times be controversial,
federal funding is important to State projects, where both municipal and agriculture interests can
often benefit from the funds supplied for needed water projects.
More information on the topic can be found at the EPA Web Site.